ᴛʜᴇ ᴋɪᴅ: Twenty-five dollars gets us going a ways, forty would get us a room for the night. I had to use that other twenty you gave me for cigarettes and a Red Bull for my girl. She was about to pass out.

ᴛʜᴇ ʀɪᴅᴇʀ: But I already gave you money for your motel.

ᴛʜᴇ ᴋɪᴅ: Like I said, man. I had to use it.

ᴛʜᴇ ʀɪᴅᴇʀ: When is the mechanic coming?

ᴛʜᴇ ᴋɪᴅ: Driver said he’s eighty miles out. Should only be another two hours.

ᴛʜᴇ ʀɪᴅᴇʀ: Two hours?

ᴛʜᴇ ᴋɪᴅ: He said that’s transportation, man.

OUTSIDE THE BUS

ᴛʜᴇ ᴅʀɪᴠᴇʀ: You’re gonna smoke your whole pack.

ᴛʜᴇ ᴋɪᴅ: Can you tell I’m nervous?

ᴛʜᴇ ᴅʀɪᴠᴇʀ: I ain’t never seen a boy more nervous.

ᴛʜᴇ ᴋɪᴅ: My girl’s about to have a baby.

ᴛʜᴇ ᴅʀɪᴠᴇʀ: No shit?

ᴛʜᴇ ᴋɪᴅ: It’s our first. They’re our first, actually. She’s having four.

ᴛʜᴇ ᴅʀɪᴠᴇʀ: Four babies?

ᴛʜᴇ ᴋɪᴅ: She was pregnant with twins and then the Lord came and gave us two more for the first set of twins we lost. He put their spirits back in her.

ᴛʜᴇ ᴅʀɪᴠᴇʀ: That’s real powerful, man. How old are you?

ᴛʜᴇ ᴋɪᴅ: Nineteen. But it’s not my first kid. I had another with my ex, but I can’t see him because of some bullshit. She won’t let me. She won’t let me see my own kid, bro.

ᴛʜᴇ ᴅʀɪᴠᴇʀ: Mhm. That’s life.

ᴛʜᴇ ᴋɪᴅ: You know how it is, bro. Everyone thinks I’m a white boy where I’m from even though my dad’s mixed. So they write me off before they know me. You know how it is.

ᴛʜᴇ ᴅʀɪᴠᴇʀ: Mhm. That’s life.

ᴛʜᴇ ᴋɪᴅ: But now we gotta take this bus to L.A. and then another one to Arizona, ‘cuz that’s where I can get some work, and I’d rather burn on the street there than freeze on the street where I was.

ᴛʜᴇ ᴅʀɪᴠᴇʀ: What kind of work you do?

ᴛʜᴇ ᴋɪᴅ: I was in the army for ten years. Sniper. Trained for years on Call of Duty and then when I went in they said right away I was the best they ever had. Watched all my best friends get killed. Served ten years and all I got was PTSD and dead friends.

ᴛʜᴇ ᴅʀɪᴠᴇʀ: I thought you said you were only nineteen.

ᴛʜᴇ ᴋɪᴅ: Youngest they ever had. Came out and I’m still on the CoD leaderboard.

BACK ON THE BUS

ᴛʜᴇ ʀɪᴅᴇʀ: How long have we been here?

ᴛʜᴇ ᴅʀɪᴠᴇʀ: Four hours.

ᴛʜᴇ ʀɪᴅᴇʀ: What did the mechanic say?

ᴛʜᴇ ᴅʀɪᴠᴇʀ: Broken oil line. Leaking. Overheated going up that hill. But he didn’t have one on him, so they’re sending another bus. We’re leaving this one here.

ᴛʜᴇ ʀɪᴅᴇʀ: When’s he getting here?

ᴛʜᴇ ᴅʀɪᴠᴇʀ: He’s eighty miles out. Should only be another two hours.

ᴛʜᴇ ʀɪᴅᴇʀ: That’s what you said about the mechanic.

ᴛʜᴇ ᴅʀɪᴠᴇʀ: That’s transportation, man.

A play in three acts. Duration: six hours.